Eastern States 20 Miler & Half Marathon
Hampton, NH
- 20 Miler, Half Marathon
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
From Kittery, Maine to Salisbury, Massachusetts along the spectacular New Hampshire Seacoast. Seven towns, three states – all in one race! The Eastern States is a great final training run for any spring marathon! The race begins in scenic Kittery, ME, runs through historic Portsmouth, NH, along Route 1A overlooking … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Mar 21):
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
| H (°F) | 47 | 43 | 38 | 56 | 55 |
| L (°F) | 35 | 38 | 26 | 29 | 40 |
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Nice little race
Course - The course was the coastal road down almost the entire length of New Hampshire. For our event it was light snow turning into steady rain and rather windy … MORE
Course – The course was the coastal road down almost the entire length of New Hampshire. For our event it was light snow turning into steady rain and rather windy which kind killed the ability to really enjoy the scenery which obviously wasn’t the event’s fault. Had it been a nice day, you really would have enjoyed the course! Given the weather, there was very little course support, but again, that is nothing against the event.
Aid Stations – They were frequent and plentiful. All of them were staffed well with excited volunteers and plenty of water/Gatorade and Gu/Honey Stinger products
Swag – Typical tech shirt that you would get from most events. I really liked the medal; nice size, design and colors
Race Production – Lively energy provided at the start and finish line. It felt like a fair amount of people lingered around after the event to hang out which is typically a good sign that it was a good event and people enjoyed themselves. I really appreciated that they made accommodations for the buses that took us to the starting point to stay until the race started. With the weather being in the 30s and a light snow coming down, it was great to be able to sit in the heated bus until the starting time
Verdict – I needed this race to complete my 50 state challenge and I am glad that I chose this one. Because of that, I doubt I would travel from NC to do it again but would definitely recommend it to anyone local or needing to cross NH off their list
Will Winter Ever be Over?
This is a classic 20 mile race in New England that is designed as a prep race for the Boston Marathon. A Half marathon was also added so more people … MORE
This is a classic 20 mile race in New England that is designed as a prep race for the Boston Marathon. A Half marathon was also added so more people would be able to complete it. The 20 miler starts in Maine and ends in NH and the half marathon is all in NH. At one point it ended in MA so the 20 miler went through 3 states but I assume MA was too difficult to deal with so now it ends in NH. Millennium Running took over production at some point and they always do a good job and seemed to improve things from the oldest review of this race. I was initially registered for the 20 miler but for a multitude of reasons the main one being the weather forecast I decided to drop down to the half. There was good pre race communication. For bib pick-up you can either get it at the Millennium Running store in Bedford, NH on Saturday or race day. Bedford isn’t that convenient for the race but I needed to go up to Concord, NH on Saturday so stopped in Bedford on the way up and got my packet. It was easy and included bib and the race shirt. It is a tech short sleeved shirt. It is a bit neon orange for me but isn’t bad. Race day was smooth with clear instructions. The race is point to point. You park at the finish line. Lots of parking which was very easy. There were separate buses for the 20 miler and half that were clearly marked. I was happy to find running friends on the bus. It is about a 30 minute bus ride. The weather was horrible and I was very happy I dropped down. It was windy, rainy and there was also some hail. The buses were heated and we could wait in them so waiting wasn’t too bad. There were a good amount of porta potties. The race start was smooth. The half had about 500 runners. There were no waves or corrals. I just lined up near the back but not right at the back as I figured that is where I would finish. It is hard to judge a race when weather is miserable but this seems like it would be a really nice race in nice weather. It is point to point along the sea coast. There are ocean views for most of the race. Some of it was beautiful. I didn’t take any pictures as I didn’t want to take my phone out in the rain. The seacoast is also very flat so it is a fast course. I was very happy with my pace as I was on pace for most of the race to finish around 2:45 despite the weather. Production was mostly very good as expected from Millennium Running. There were 5 aid stations. All with water and Gatorade and 2 with Gu. One thing I liked was the mile markers were a countdown so the half and 20 miler could share markers. I actually loved the backwards mile markers as it meant there was really only 1 mile after the last marker. I think we should switch to races doing it. It also prevented the confusion of different mile markers for different distances. It was a super easy course to follow as it was essentially down one road. My only production critique is it is on open roads. I’m not sure much can be done about this. There were coned off sections and lots of signs for drivers but it always makes me a little nervous. The setup was essentially the same as Florida where there was a fatality on an open course so it makes me nervous but I had no issues with any cars. Some of the course is a bit narrow but by the time the 20 milers catch up it widens out. I thought I might have been able to break 2:45 if I had a strong finish. But the last 3 miles had the strongest headwind so my last few miles weren’t as strong but I did break 2:50 and had my second fastest half for the year. I was really happy to have such as fast race fighting headwinds and weather. If there was good weather this would be a super fast course. It is also back of the pack friendly with lots of people at my pace. There is a stated 3.5 hours time limit for the half and 4.5 hours for the 20 miler but they are not strict. I was very happy to be finished and done with the rain. The medal is really nice though not distance specific. However I think a lot of people drop from the 20 miler to the half so I understand why they would give everyone the same medal. There were typical post race food. There was also soup. I was excited for soup as it was so cold but there was only chicken noodle with no vegetarian option. I was disappointed by this. My general rule of thumb when a race is in between 2 scores is I round down if there isn’t a vegetarian option. I felt the race was in-between 4 and 5 sneakers so rounded down to 4. Sorry you need vegetarian soup for that 5th sneaker. I still thought this was a nice, flat scenic, and well produced race. It would be an excellent race in nice weather. However this weather is not that atypical of March. I would definitely recommend this for locals especially those looking for a training run for Boston or another spring marathon. In terms of 50 staters, I don’t think this is a bad option as it was a nice race in a convenient location. However I do think you may be better off doing a later spring or fall race when the weather is more likely to be good. Also many places by the seacoast are still closed for the season so it may not be the most exciting trip. I would consider doing it again. However I decided to do Shamrock in VA Beach instead next year because sorry they have vegetarian soup.
Scenic race
This race has been around for a long time and is still one of the best coastal races there is. They bus you to Kittery Maine and you run along … MORE
This race has been around for a long time and is still one of the best coastal races there is. They bus you to Kittery Maine and you run along the coast, with friendly people on an easy course.
LOVE this race!
Weather can always be a big factor in your performance but the scenery coupled with the excellent race organization makes this one of my all-time favorites! The only problem I … MORE
Weather can always be a big factor in your performance but the scenery coupled with the excellent race organization makes this one of my all-time favorites! The only problem I have is with the last couple of miles. They are really tough (and often times it starts to get hot around that time), right next to lots of traffic, and you have to dodge slower Half runners on tight sidewalks. All the views and mostly fast, downhill course up to that point make it alright though.
Nice race, but some issues
This is a small race, but I was really surprised that there were no mile markers on the run, which is on Highway 1A. The scenery is fantastic since you … MORE
This is a small race, but I was really surprised that there were no mile markers on the run, which is on Highway 1A. The scenery is fantastic since you are running on the New Hampshire coast. I liked the t-shirt, but the race medal was basically a generic high school medal with a sticker on it. On the other hand, the after race party was really nice. If this was 2005 I would have given the race 4 shoes. Also, the webpage is confusing and hard to read.